In "Book the Second—the Golden Thread," the theme of resurrection begins to appear seldom as the book ends. At the start of this book, Charles Darnay, a young French noble of the Evrémonde family, is on trial for treason in England. He is accused of being a spy due to his time spent traveling back and forth between France and England. As he is being prosecuted, the people of the courtroom are almost positive that he will be found guilty and sentenced to death. However, Darnay is saved by the ingeniousness of Sydney Carton, and he too is suddenly resurrected or "recalled to life" (19, 35).
In both "Book the Second" and "Book the Third," the reader gets different perspectives of the theme of resurrection. Jerry Cruncher, a porter and messenger for Tellson's Bank and also a body-snatcher, refers to his late night activities as though it is an honest trade. Jerry’s son knows of his nocturnal activities and expresses his desire "to be a resurrection-man when [he is] quite grown[n] up!" (166). Young Jerry changes around the concept of the resurrection theme because it is simply a physical resurrection of corpses from the graveyard, but with little meaning. The reader later realizes the significance of the activities of the resurrection-man in "Book the Third."
In the battle of good versus evil in A Tale of Two Cities, good tends to resurrect or be resurrected, while the forces of evil mimic the theme of resurrection. This concept is shown twice in the novel by Old Foulon and Roger Cly. Old Foulon, the evil French aristocrat, fakes his own death so that he will not be slaughtered by the revolution. However, he is later then found alive and is murdered anyway. This pattern of false death and false resurrection is also followed by Roger Cly. He too is evil, faking his death and being "reborn" as a spy again in a different country.
In "Book the Third," the theme of resurrection plays an essential role in the development of the plot. Miss Pross, Lucie's governess, recognizes the spy Barsad as her lost brother, Solomon. In the eyes of Miss Pross, Solomon is resurrected and her brother is restored. Sydney Carton, a quick-minded but depressed English alcoholic, meets Barsad and shortly after, Jerry Cruncher reveals to them that Roger Cly is in fact not dead. Cruncher knows this through his "honest trade" of body-snatching. This allows Barsad to be manipulated by Sydney Carton so Darnay might be saved from death once again. As the reader can tell, Sydney Carton is the character that is most involved with the theme of resurrection in A Tale of Two Cities. Carton is a man of very little self esteem who has led a miserable life and has always looked up to Darnay.
In Sydney Carton’s character, the theme of love is deeply involved with the theme of resurrection. He is known to be in love with Lucie Manette, even after she marries Charles Darnay. Vowing to give his life for her or anyone she loves, Carton soon realizes that he may have to make good of the promise he made to Lucy. So when Darnay is taken prisoner for a second time in France, Carton knows that the French rebels will stop at nothing to kill him this time. He realizes that he may be able to use his influence over Barsad to switch places with Darnay. As Carton organizes the switch, the inner purpose of his actions can be seen. His vow to Lucy wasn't the only thing that drove him to endanger his own life, but he also saw it as a way of redemption. The switch is done successfully and Carton then fully realizes what he has done. He does not back away from his inevitable death; instead, he embraces it. Knowing that his action will allow Lucie to live happily, Carton levels to a state of satisfaction. In his final moments before death, Carton is portrayed as some sort of God. He is giving up his life so that others may enjoy theirs. Just before he is beheaded, the words of Jesus are mentioned; "I am the Resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die" (366). After Carton is beheaded, Darnay and his family escape to England. The reader gets a brief glimpse of their life after they escape and how Sydney Carton is literally resurrected. Carton lives on and with the end of the book the final resurrection occurs.
Capturing the style of Dickens’ writing, A Tale of Two Cities contains the classic themes of love, redemption, and good versus evil which are all included in the use of the resurrection theme.